Sri Brahma-samhita

by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura

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Lord Brahma saw Krishna directly and composed a prayer based on his Realizations—a striking prayer by one who has seen the Truth.

Krishna revealed His own form to Brahma, along with His spiritual planets, His devotees and their relationships with Him. Overwhelmed by this transcendental revelation, Brahma spoke these words glorifying Krishna and what he saw.

Brahma's awe and love permeates the text and gives an overview of the workings of the cosmic creation.

Follow Brahma's vision and understanding to the feet of Krishna and see Him face-to-face yourself.

This publication is an expanded edition of the first English-language version of Brahma-samhita—published in India in 1932—featuring the translation and commentary of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Goswami (1874-1937). Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, a great Vaishnava saint and scholar, was the guru of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

The origins of the text Brahma-samhita are lost in cosmic antiquity. According to Vedic tradition, these "Hymns of Brahma&38221; were recited or sung countless millennia ago by the first created being in the universe, just prior to the act of creation. The text surfaced and entered calculable history early in the sixteenth century, where it was discovered in the manuscript library of an ancient temple in what is now Kerala state in South India. The essential core of the Brahma samhita consists of a brief description of the enlightenment of Lord Brahma by Lord Sri Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, followed by Brahma's extraordinarily beautiful prayers elucidating the content of his revelation.

There is nothing vague about Brahma's description of the lord and His abode. No dim, nihilistic nothingness, no blinding bright lights, no wispy, dreamy visions of harps and clouds; rather, a vibrant, luminescent world in transcendental color, form, and sound—a sublimely variegated spiritual landscape populated by innumerable blissful, eternal liberated souls reveling in spiritual cognition, sensation, and emotion, all in relationship with the all-blissful, all-attractive Personality of Godhead. 
 
The only book we have by Brahma is Brahma-samhita. Understanding the origin of this book will also give us a brief description of who Brahma is.

When Lord Garbhodakashayi Vishnu desires to recreate the universe, a divine golden lotus flower grows from his navel, and Brahma is born from the lotus. As he is not born from parents, Brahma is known as Svayambhu, "self-existent" or "unoriginated." Upon his emergence from the lotus, Lord Brahma begins—in preparation for his role as secondary creator—to contemplate the act of cosmic creation but, seeing only darkness about, is bewildered in the performance of his duty. Sarasvati, the goddess of learning, appears before him and instructs him to meditate upon the kama-bija mantra (klim krishnaya govindaya gopijana-vallabhaya svaha), promising that this mantra "will assuredly fulfill your heart's desire."

Lord Brahma thus meditates upon Lord Krishna in His spiritual realm and hears the divine sound of Krishna's flute. The kama-gayatri mantra (klim kamadevaya vidmahe pushpa-banaya dhimahi tan no 'nangah pracodayat), the "mother of the Vedas, "is made manifest from the sound of Krishna's flute, and Brahma, thus initiated by the supreme primal preceptor Himself, begins to chant the Gayatri. As Srila Prabhupada puts it, "When the sound vibration of Krishna's flute is expressed through the mouth of Brahma, it becomes gayatri" (Teachings of Lord Chaitanya, p. 322).

Enlightened by his meditation upon the holy Gayatri, Brahma "became acquainted with the expanse of the ocean of truth." Inspired by his profound and sublime realizations, his heart overflowing with devotion and transcendental insight, Lord Brahma spontaneously begins to offer a series of poem—prayers to the source of his enlightenment and the object of his devotion, Lord Sri Krishna.